Nighttime visitations
by BELOVEDbyWAR
Summary: A take on what could have happened after the end of the series. After a surprising nighttime visitation Mike and Henry start a grudging friendship. TV-verse
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Nighttime visitations ****  
****Author: BELOVEDbyWAR****  
****Pairing: Henry/Mike (Gen)****  
****Rating: K ****  
****TV verse: Blood Ties - After series finale****  
****Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any money.****  
****Summary: Mike gets an unexpected visit.****  
****WK: 785**

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Nighttime visitations:**  
**

It was in the middle of the night. Just arriving home from work, Mike felt that he was being watched. He stopped in front of the front door and took a resigned breath.

"What do you want, Vampire?"

The figure came out of the shadows but, after he was standing in front of the taller man, seemed to suddenly reconsider.

"Nothing. This was a mistake and I never should have come here!"

He started to turn around, but Mike stopped him by placing a hand on Henry's arm.  
The vampire looked from the hand to the man's face. It was almost like déjà-vu, but instead of gripping the detective's throat he simply looked at him.

Mike was surprised to see the pain in those steel-grey eyes and recognized the same loneliness he had felt since breaking contact with Vicki.

"Why don't you come in?"

Henry hesitated, but then quickly followed when Mike left the door open.

Mike's home was surprisingly stylish, but still cozy. It radiated a warmth that drew Henry in.

The detective had shed his coat and sat down on a comfortable-looking couch, watching the younger-looking man inspect his home. Why had he come here tonight? Mike waited patiently for what would happen and motioned for the vampire to sit down when he finally got the other man's attention.

"I would offer you something to drink, but since I am all out of A negative, I will spare us such pleasantries and come right to the point. To what do I owe the questionable honor of your visit?"

Henry surprisingly did not, as expected, take the bait, but simply shook his head and smiled. It was nice to know that some things never changed.

"Blunt as always, detective. It is nice to know that you stay true to your nature, come what may." Seeing a tick start in the corner of one of Mike's eyes, he continued:

"I am not here to irritate you, as much as I admit to loving it – "

He gave Mike an honest smile that somehow coaxed an answering lift of the corners of the detective's mouth.

"I – "

He stopped, not quite sure how to continue.

"I wanted to know how she is doing?"

He looked searching into big, blue orbs that suddenly seemed filled with a sadness he easily could relate to.

Mike did not have to ask who _she_ was. It could only be Vicki.

Vicki…

He missed her so much, but he had done the right thing. He had told her he could not wait for her forever and after hearing her say those words to Henry, he had finally seen the hopelessness of the situation. She did not love him like he loved her anymore, or not enough, and it was time to accept reality and try to move on. Mike knew he would always love her, but if he didn't cut the strings now, he never would. Instead he would watch over her from the sidelines, because even if he stayed out of her life, he would always be there to keep her safe – always…

"Mike?" ancient eyes looked at him, concerned.

"Oh, yeah," he swallowed, "she… she is fine, considering. There has been no further incident with … you know. Nowadays she works mostly standard cases as far as I was able to find out, but – I…"

Henry nodded in understanding.

"You are not in contact anymore. Believe me, I understand! And contrary to whatever you might think, I do hold you in high regard for still being so loyal to her. She is lucky to have such a friend!"

The vampire rose slowly from the couch and went to the door. Then he stopped and turned once more to say:

"Take care!"

But before he could vanish, the detective called after him:

"Hey, Fitzroy! You, ahem, … if you want to know what is going on, well… feel free to come by."

Mike knew he would regret these words the moment they left his mouth. And not disappointing him, the vampire again stood in front of him with mischievous, glittering eyes and whispered softly:

"Why, Michael, if I had known you would miss me, I would never have left!"

And with this sentence and a last wink, the undead bastard son of Henry VIII was gone.

"God, I hate him!"

But even as he spoke those words, Mike knew them to be false and he instead smiled. Somehow, suddenly the world seemed lighter than only an hour ago and for the first time in months, Mike went to bed with the feeling that all would be well.

(tbc)

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	2. Chapter 2

**Title: Nighttime visitations II ****  
****Author: BELOVEDbyWAR**  
**Pairing: Henry/Mike (Gen)**  
**Rating: K **  
**TV verse: Blood Ties - After series finale**  
**Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any money.**  
**Summary: Vicky gets Mike in a dangerous situation. Help comes unexpectedly.**  
**AN: Thanks to my wonderful beta luvinmike  
WK: 1602**

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Nighttime visitations II:  


Since that one night, Mike could not stop thinking about their conversation and the way the vampire had acted.

That one visit had somehow changed the detective's whole opinion of the other man. It had shown him the depth of Henry's feelings for Vicki and, for whatever reason, he felt sorry for him.

Maybe it was because Mike was in a similar position and could therefore sympathize with him, or maybe it was that for the first time since knowing the bastard son of Henry VIII, he had actually seemed almost human...

No matter what, Mike did not know if he would ever see the vampire again and maybe it was that thought that did not sit right with him, even if he would never admit it!

_But wasn't that what he had wished for since being introduced to the supernatural?_

However, the alternative was even more frightening. With Henry by their sides they had had a fighting chance, but now he did not know what would happen when the demon came knocking.

Those were his thoughts as he stood hidden in the dark, shadowing Vicki on one of her nighttime stakeouts.

Since that one night, Coreen and Mike had a secret understanding. Each time Vicki got one of "those cases," Coreen called him with the details and Mike would follow Vicki and make sure she was all right.

It was not ideal and Mike owed his colleagues so many favors already for covering for him, he couldn't imagine how he would ever pay them all back. The only problem now was that Vicki had been quite busy the last few nights and, try as he might, the detective could not deny that all those sleepless nights were taking a toll. He was not twenty anymore and after 4, no now 5 days and nights of nonstop activity, his body was running solely on caffeine.

Coreen had informed him that a lot could depend on him being there tonight. It was a full moon and, night blindness or not, Vicki was out hunting a werewolf. A werewolf! The thought alone made Mike sweat and knowing that Vicki would be alone out here, the blond mobilized his last reserves to play back up. His trusty weapon loaded with silver bullets and clutching a silver blade as his only hopes of defense, he prayed that he would not need them.

Fortune seemed to have something against the cop as of late, however, and so it was no real surprise that the moment Vicki entered the deserted building, a shadow moved after her.

A sudden fear for Vicki's life allowed him to throw caution aside and a stone at the beast, drawing its attention on himself.

Running for his life and as far away from Vicki as he could, Mike felt that he was being hunted and the sound of paws on concrete only confirmed that feeling. Managing to lure the beast far enough away, he soon felt it closing in.

He turned around just in time to see it jump at him. What followed was the longest moment in his whole life.

Soulless, glowing, yellow eyes filled with bloodlust stared at him as vicious dagger-like fangs were bared, ready to tear into him and sever flesh from bone. The silver-furred, wolf-like creature flew through the air with its claws extended, intending to maul him. Throwing himself on the ground, he did not hesitate to empty the whole magazine into the beast. With a yowl it fell aside, but was not yet dead. Trying to keep calm, he swiftly drew his silver blade and prepared to fight for his life.

The beast attacked again. Clumsy from its wounds, Mike managed to dodge its blows and bites for quite some time. Reacting on pure instinct, he too lashed out and scored some nice hits, which enraged the werewolf only further.

It went on and on. As in a deadly dance, the opponents circled each other, stepping back and forth. However, Mike felt how his determination failing him as he staggered once and was promptly tossed aside.

Landing hard, he groaned and tried to stand up, but it was too late. The animal was upon him.

Thinking _that's it, I'm dead,_ Mike said his prayers as the beast pounced.

Seeing the white in the beast's eyes and those deadly jaws open wider, he desperately moved the blade in front of himself as a last defense.

Then everything went black and a heavy weight landing on top of him took his breath away.

When he regained consciousness, he could not breathe, an enormous pain went through his right shoulder, and he couldn't move. _God, no! Please! Help! He could not die like this! He had to live! He couldn't leave Vicki alone_. But pushing only made it worse. The pain in both his shoulder and chest felt like hot pokers and his breath became shallower as the edges of his vision became dark.

The moment before he lost consciousness again, the weight was lifted from his body.

The last thing he saw was a familiar face leaning frantically over him. He thought he saw an angel illuminated by the moonlight, though he knew better. If only **he** had come a few minutes earlier…

Oh, no! He was too late!

His instincts told him that something would happen tonight and when he checked Vicki's office and saw Coreen pacing impatiently, he knew something was up.

In spite of the low profile he was trying to maintain, he went inside and confronted Coreen.

The gothette had been so relieved to see him she almost hugged him. Then she told him the whole story of Vicki continuing alone and getting more reckless by the day, Mike shadowing her, Mike and Coreen's arrangement, and, of course, the details of the current case.

The moment Henry heard werewolf he was beside himself. How could Vicki be so careless? He quickly asked the young woman where Vicki had gone and then disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Finding the abandoned house had not been a problem. After arriving, he soon found Vicki safe. However, there was no werewolf in the vicinity. Suspiciously, neither was Celluci. Coreen had assured Henry the blond would guard Vicki's back, so where was he?

Listening closely, he soon heard a suspicious growling some distance away. When he also realized that a human was in close proximity to what he supposed to be the werewolf, the vampire became horrified.

Moving at vampire speed, he raced in that direction. Seeing Michael Celluci lying under the unmoving werewolf froze his blood. A soft heartbeat gave him hope that the stubborn mortal had somehow been victorious despite the odds. He lifted the heavy beast off the police officer just in time to see those expressive blue eyes close and Mike's head roll to the side.

Initially panicking, the vampire feared that he had been too late, but he quickly realized that the man had simply passed out. From the black rings under the detective's eyes and his ashen pallor, Henry guessed Mike to be completely exhausted. On closer examination, Henry discovered that Mike had a dislocated shoulder, a few broken ribs, and countless bruises, scratches and grazes.

After resetting the mortal's shoulder, he yanked the sword out of the beast's black heart and decapitated it with a mighty blow.

To ensure its demise, he set the corpse on fire and watched it burn. When the detective began showing signs of reawakening, the vampire knelt by the blond's side and was relieved when the officer began complaining.

"Ohhh, Christ that hurts!"

"Detective! What the hell were you thinking to attack a werewolf by yourself? You could have been killed and very nearly were!" Henry berated the blond.

Mike looked him straight in the eye and stated firmly:

"Better me than her!" before looking off in the distance.

Henry was speechless because he could easily picture Vicki stating the same words. Those two would die for each other. Henry wished he had someone who felt the same about him.

Quickly recovering, he helped the other man stand. They had to leave before Vicki found them and started asking questions neither of them wanted to answer.

He only hoped that the detective had hidden his car well because they had to leave it behind. Mike was in no condition to drive.

Walking to Henry's Jaguar, the vampire had a feeling of déjà-vu as he recalled the other time he had also helped the cop from a fight scene. Only then the beast that had hurt the man had been him.

It was clear that the police officer painfully suffered with every step that he took, but he stayed silent.

_Typical! He's too proud and hardheaded to admit that he hurts! _the prince thought as they finally reached the car and Mike climbed in under his own power.

It took them ten minutes to reach Mike's home and another ten to get Mike inside.

Wordlessly, Henry retrieved the first aid kit and patched the other man up. Surprisingly, Celluci endured the whole procedure in silence except for a few hisses and groans.

The human was so exhausted that he did not resist as the vampire tucked him in. When his savior turned to leave, Mike caught the smaller man's wrist and whispered sleepily:

"Thank you!" before finally succumbing to his fatigue.

Taking the hand that still rested on his wrist and tenderly laying it on the mortal's stomach, Henry swallowed once before he answered softly, but from the bottom of his heart:

"You are welcome!"

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**


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: Nighttime visitations III (part I/?) ****  
****Author: BELOVEDbyWAR****  
****Pairing: Henry/Mike (Gen)****  
****Rating: K ****  
****TV verse: Blood Ties - After series finale****  
****Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any money.****  
****Summary: After the werewolf incident Mike is in dire need of a bit pampering. But there is not much time for him to recover because Vicki seems to have found herself another strange case.****  
****AN: Thanks to my wonderful beta luvinmike ****  
****Wc: 1460**

Nighttime Visitations III:

After that near fatal night, Henry kept a much closer watch over his human friends.

Friends? Yes, especially after the stunt Mike had pulled. If the cop had not been there, Vicki would most likely be dead and Henry could not even imagine that possibility. And after their nighttime chat, the blond had earned Henry's respect as well as his gratitude.

Thankfully, the last few days had been uneventful, which provided Mike time to recuperate. Because of his injuries, he had to take some much-needed sick leave and had actually slept through the last two days.

Mike had been surprised to find his fridge and cabinets freshly restocked. **Someone** had even gone out of their way and cooked him a delicious stew that only needed to be reheated. The blond had an idea who his secret benefactor was, and was surprisingly touched by the vampire's gesture.

His shoulder still hurt like hell, as did his ribs, which made every small movement a hardship.

He had never felt so alone and helpless as he did now. He had heard that people could suffer some depression after breaking a bone. Was this what elicited his emotional loneliness? Or was it simply that he was in dire need of someone to take care of him?

With a groan and feeling completely drained, he sank back into bed.

Everything hurt, he felt unusually weak, and so lonely. If he could he would have curled into a small ball. Seeing as even breathing caused his ribs to ache, he simply lay still and tried not to wallow in self-pity.

Sleeping, he soon realized, was also not a good idea, because the moment he closed his eyes, he pictured bloodlust-filled, yellow eyes glaring at him and he relived the moment the rabid beast jumped at him, preparing to drive those dagger-like canines into his flesh. Only this time he would not be so lucky…

A cool hand carefully shakeing his healthy shoulder woke him.

Heart pounding and drenched in sweat, Mike shot up and looked around wildly, panting as if he had just run for his life.

Instead of yellow, hate-filled eyes, he was greeted by Henry's concerned gray ones. Wincing, Mike curled an arm around his heaving chest, trying to relieve the pain and calm himself down.

"Hey," he managed to utter after he had caught his breath.

"Detective."

The tone of the greeting seemed warmer than Mike was used to and he had to admit that he was somewhat relieved to see Fitzroy again.

"Thanks for the groceries. I hadn't spent much at home lately."

"So I had noticed," answered the vampire, a smile playing around his lips.

"Oh, and thank you for the stew. I didn't know you could cook. It was delicious!"

This actually coaxed a full smile from the prince.

"There is a lot about me you do not know. But suffice it to say, after this many years I did learn a few things here and there. You might be surprised."

"No doubt. Aww! FUCK!"

Mike had tried to sit up straighter, but the resulting pain caused him to slump back, which only resulted in further suffering.

Careful hands helped him lay back down.

"Shhh, take it easy, Detective."

"Easier said than done!" Mike spoke through gritted teeth. But after he relaxed, it was almost bearable and his lingering distress was a bone deep fatigue.

A sudden movement to his right caught his attention, but when he looked for its source black eyes caught his and a commanding voice said:

"Sleep, Michael, you need it."

As if of their own accord, Mike's eyes started to close. He knew there was something he wanted to say, but suddenly all thoughts were gone and he fell again asleep.

Henry took one last glance at the now sleeping man's pained expression. Mike really needed his rest and Henry planned to see to it that the detective got it.

***

When Mike awoke the next day, all the mess he had made had been cleaned up and the vampire had again left him a delicious meal he only had to heat up.

This routine was repeated but became less regular as he recovered.

Soon Mike was on the mend and he returned to light duty at work. He managed to get a few more nights of undisturbed sleep and Vicki even managed to stay out of trouble.

But that short breather was not enough to recharge his overused batteries or heal his bruised and battered body completely.

It was only a question of time before he would have to pay the price for misusing his body like he had done for the past months.

***

_  
( Two weeks later: )_

Once again there had been numerous reports of strange disappearances around town, but the police could not find a pattern. None of the missing people were of the same age, gender, occupation, ethnic group, or even sexual orientation. They had been poor and rich and well educated and not. It was a complete mystery.

Of course, Vicki was the first to discover the victims' only commonality. They had not been baptized.

And, of course, she figured that in combination with her demon marks made her terrific bait.

Mike was beside himself as Coreen explained everything to him and told him of their theory.

Of course it couldn't be your standard mass murdering lunatic. No! This time they had to come up with a villain of Biblical proportions – literally!

Mike swallowed deeply as he remembered Granny explaining to him when he was really small why babies had to be baptized.

_He squirmed on her lap as she sat in her rocking chair:_

_Now, Michael, that is a very good question. You see it is not only water the priest pours over their heads to wash them. With the ceremony they receive the sign of God and with it His protection._

"_But Nana," he had said in puzzlement, "Grandpa is here to protect the people!"_

_And the small old woman had tousled his hair affectionately and smiled on him with the love only a grandparent could give._

"_That is right, mio angelo, but your Nonno can't be everywhere all the time and there are things out there that even he is powerless against."_

_Mike had looked at her with wide, big, blue eyes and whispered, "Monsters?"_

_At that moment his grandfather, still dressed in his police uniform, had entered the room and swept a squealing Mike up his wide shoulders._

"_Uff! Now look at you how much you have grown! Soon you will have to carry me!" _

_Giggling happily, Mike had promptly forgotten the monsters and all he had thought was how much he wanted to be like that loving, strong man who was always there for him._

A sudden sadness overcame him as he remembered the only real father figure he had had and lost far too early to one of the more human monsters out there.

When he was a little older the monsters his grandmother had hinted at were again mentioned.

He was in Bible school then:

"… _and they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue his name is Apollylon."_

There he was described as the king of a group of locust-like creatures with the faces of men, the hair of women, tails of scorpions, teeth of lions, and wings that sound like the thunder of horses' hooves charging into battle.

"_He will open the bottomless pit, releasing these creatures that will, for five months, torment people that do not have the seal of God upon their foreheads."_

Fortunately, as Coreen had told him, the pit had not yet been opened and needed 13 sacrifices of said people for it to happen. There had been 12 so far and Vicki's hunch told her tonight was the night.

Mike groaned. He hated her hunches! Especially since they tended to be on the mark.

Taking one last, deep swallow of extra strong espresso to help him through the night, he once more checked his weapon and the two objects he had not looked upon since his grandparents had died: His granddad's silver chain on which hung a small cross and his granny's rosary.

With a resigned sigh, he put them both on and left to watch over Vicki. The silver necklace was cool around his neck and the rosary beads felt warm against his wrist.

_Where was that blasted vampire when he needed him?!_

Mike promised himself that if he survived this night, he would demand Fitzroy's new mobile number and any other way to get hold of him.

_He was getting too old for this!_

***

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